In the Glory Be, what does the word 'it' refer to in 'as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be'?
Robert Sungenis explains that "it" is used abstractly here and refers to the eternity of the Trinity. He holds the phrase works because the Trinity never changes: it always was, is now, and always will be, and the small word carries that whole changeless reality.
A viewer named Mark asks what the word 'it' refers to in the prayer 'Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end.'
Answer
Sometimes the pronoun 'it' is used in an abstract way, not pointing to any single specific thing but to whatever the context allows, and even then it stays somewhat ambiguous. Here it refers to the eternity of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The reason it 'was, is, and ever shall be' is that the Trinity never changes and is continual; it always was, is now, and always will be, and you can depend on that. So the little word 'it' is doing the work of covering that whole reality of the Trinity's changeless eternity.